The book

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What happens after a child escapes from slavery? How can shattered innocence be restored?

This documentary project by Ana Palacios documents the experience of thousands of children who are bought and sold as slaves in West Africa, the region with the world's highest rate of child labour. Her work shows that there is a way out for these victims of modern slavery, a “back door” which some of them manage to find, open and step through to live their lives in freedom.

The prologue to the book is by Gervasio Sánchez and curated by Chema Conesa.

«Photographing a child is like drawing a riddle in thin air, trying to solve an equation before it has been formulated. Ana Palacios knows this and prefers not to meddle with that photographic mystery. Her trademark is the professional zeal that drives her determination to investigate, expose and draw attention to an unhappy truth, with the private hope of somehow mitigating its consequences.».

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**Ana Palacios will donate the royalties from this publication to the shelters for child slaves run by the Salesian Missions, the Carmelite Sisters of Charity Vedruna and Mensajeros de la Paz in Togo, Benin and Gabon.